Convergent care research which aimed to evaluate families of babies with very low birth weight, based on the Calgary Family Assessment Model. The nine families included were attended for six months after the infant's discharge from hospital. Data were collected through home visits and analyzed based on the structural, functional and development categories proposed in the Calgary Model. Conflicting subsystems were present only in one family and all families' support network contained elements from other systems than the family. The collaboration of parents, grandparents and older children in the household allowed the mothers to spend more time taking care of the infants and contributed to a positive adaptation and family balance. Living with infants with very low birth weight requires that families organize themselves and adapt to the home care, involving changes in the roles of each family member.
Family; Infant, very low birth weigth; Child care; Nursing
